If it were primarily a social event and people wanted to make a weekend of it Assateague Island National Seashore has back-country camping. I have not been to this exact spot and was just discussing it with a longtime paddler as far as suitability for little kids. He gave it very high marks. This would provide two distinct bodies of water plus wild horse viewing as an attraction if anyone needed to convince a non watersport rapid significant other. If I were planning this for just myself Iâ€™d shoot for first full moon weekend after school starts. He did comment that in certain conditions some campsites can have a very shallow extended approach.

If people are thinking more racing opportunities are the way to go would be to throw in with someone who is already setting up the cans on a regular basis. Maybe there is a Hobie class event on the bay or in Hatteras. I called the guy who runs the Baltimore windsurfing race series and itâ€™s definitely a possibility that theyâ€™d give us a class start time. One of the lower key non-yacht club sailing fleets could also be easy to convince.

I also checked with the main dealer here and he estimates there are about 100 AIâ€™s in the Annapolis/Baltimore/DC area. He could probably be convinced to do a mailing of some sort giving a high probability of a count out beyond single digits. Iâ€™m less knowledgeable about the adjacent geographies but it would seem the concepts would survive.

I spent a week at the national park on assateague with my daughter at the end of April. I took my AI and she had her kayak, the place is awesome!!! I would highly recommend it. Our campsite was the better part of an acre with our own beach. We woke a couple of mornings to 8 horses and a deer grazing around our tents. Chincoteague bay had some decent sailing. It is a bit shallow so you have to watch the center board. If I can figure out how to put pictures on this site I will share.

For a social event assateague is looking very promising. Donjoe how old is your daughter and whatâ€™s your view on Assateague for little kids? In Sept mine would be almost 2 and almost 4.

For racing I also did some more web searching now that the rest of the family is down for the count. Iâ€™m now completely sure the way to go is to find people who would welcome us into their infrastructure. Catamaran Racing Association of the Chesapeake (CRAC is â€œthe Chesapeake Bay's sailing organization devoted to promoting small catamaran sailing through racingâ€

Expensive but notice it is very similar in size to the Island but carries a larger sail along with a jib and Gennaker. The pics show them all being used at the same time. If only it had pedals and cost half as much. They also reserve the right to pass on falling dollar and extra fuel costs.

Given that we aren't sure exactly what the desired outcome is it is hard to say exactly what we should be asking. I posted a general query in the cat racing/class association section with the following questions:

Has anyone already tried promoting this as a class at any existing races or within the HCANA structure?
How did it go and are there any obvious lessons?
What would have to happen to establish this as a class?
Back to the micro scale even if there were no class and no official sanction any thoughts on how many AIâ€™s weâ€™d have to round up at an existing HCANA event to justify a dedicated AI start time?

50+ views but no responses. Anecdotally I hear the class structure is on the decline a bit so it seems like this could be a good way to invigorate it. Post back with what you find out.

One problem we are going to run into are the rules for sailing regattas. I haven't met with anyone yet but was told in an email that I would have to leave my drive and paddle on shore. That ain't going to happen.

I discussed some possibilities with Joe, my local kayak dealer and an old hand when it comes to sailing cats and regattas. We both agreed that we need to come up with a course that allows the Island to do all the things an Island can do and tests the Island sailors ability to do those things.

A course that requires a little paddling, some pedaling and a lot of sailing would be ideal. However we could just do it like a triathlon where we paddle a certain distance, sail for a spell then pedal back in without mixing them up.

I personally am not interested in a fitness contest but feel the rules for the Island should allow for pedaling while under sail. The reason is it was designed with that in mind and as such is really needed sometimes.

When close hauled we are a good 15 degrees off what a Sunfish can point into the wind, by pedaling just a little I can cut that to about 5 degrees and stay on course.

In order to turn the nose through the wind, in any real wave action, pedaling is necessary as lacking a boom and having such a small rudder means you will just keep getting broadsided and tossed around by waves.

I feel that the most important rule to Island sailing is to have as much fun as possible so that everyone will want to get out and play together every chance they get.

I am also up for a camping/sailing weekend this fall but we should probably check out camping availability and firm things up if we are going to make it happen.

We do have some camping at First Landing State Park at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. From there we could sail in the Bay, across the Bay to the Eastern Shore or in the large sheltered Broad Bay where we could set up a course through narrow and shallow channels forcing Island sailors to put all their skills and equipment to use.

Lets do something even if its just all get together and have a party.
gwiz